The Mariners announced that outfielder Cade Marlowe has been designated for assignment. That is the corresponding move to open a roster spot for infielder Jorge Polanco, whose one-year deal to return to the club is now official.
Marlowe, 28 in June, was a 20th-round pick of the Mariners back in 2019. He continually posted good numbers as he was climbing the minor league ladder, so the Mariners gave him a roster spot in November of 2022 to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He has spent the past two years as a depth outfielder, getting only limited looks in the majors. To this point, he has received 109 big league plate appearances with a .240/.330/.406 line. His 11.9% walk rate in that time is strong but he’s also been punched out at a 31.2% rate.
His minor league numbers have tailed off in that time. He had a combined slash line of .281/.373/.523 over 2021 and 2022, which translated to a 129 wRC+. His 27% strikeout rate was on the high side but he offset it with an 11.5% walk rate and 49 home runs. But over 2023 and 2024, that line has been down to .246/.340/.419, translating to an 85 wRC+. His 11.9% walk rate was still good but the punchouts jumped even higher to 29.4%.
That diminished offense on the farm has seemingly nudged him off the edge of Seattle’s roster. They will now have at most a week of DFA limbo to figure out what’s next for him, whether that’s a trade or some fate on waivers. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so any trade talks would need to come together in the next five days.
He does still have one option remaining, so he could perhaps appeal to a club in search of some extra outfield depth. Though the offense has dipped, he has continued to be a threat on the basepaths. He has stolen between 24 and 43 bases in each of the past four minor league seasons. The strikeouts have been an issue even when at his best but he has some wheels, some pop, can take a walk and can be sent to the minors regularly for one more season, all of which adds up to an intriguing package overall.
We didn’t give cade much of a chance when he deserved more
I loved him in 2023 he had strong plate discipline compared to others
Kids a great athlete as well. I liked him too. Reminded me a bit of Jake Fraley
23 career hits, compared to his 34 career strike outs.
He had a 32.4 K% in AAA last season and it was around the same in his brief call-up in 2023.
His discipline was just as bad as the alternatives.
He has some good all around skills (at least that he has shown in the minors) but was starting to age out as a prospect. Though it is an odd time of year where it is a bit easier to pass guys through waivers, he is a kid I could see someone taking a flyer on.
Streaky kid, I doubt this is the last we’ll hear of him. He’ll get red hot somewhere at some point again and get another shot.
I’d think he’d make a solid 4/5 OF for a lot of teams. Why pay guys millions to bring little to the table when you could try someone like him who might be quad A just to see what he could do if given a chance.
Worth noting that Seattle has just one outfielder on the 40 that isn’t expected to be on the opening day roster (Canzone).
It’s kind of funny that one of Seattle’s biggest weaknesses since 2020 has been a lack of overall depth, yet little has changed.
I think Canzone is likely on the Opening Day 26 man roster. Our current OF is Randy, Julio and Victor. Our 4th OF is Luke, but he’s supposed to play 1B more often than not. Our 5th option would be Moore, but he is needed for 2B/general UTIL. Therefore, it’d make way more sense to have Canzone over Haniger on the Opening Day roster as it gives a bit more defensive cover and a LHH bench bat.
They have 6 OF on 40 (5 likely on 26 man) + Moore so they should have plenty of depth for this season
The amount of rookie autos I have from players who have end up being DFA within the next year is ungodly.. thanks a lot Topps :’)
The only guy I enjoyed playing besides JROD… Sell this team please.
You’re upset about them DFA’ing an OF that is currently something like 8th on the depth chart, plays poor defense, strikes out a ton, and is a 27 yo that was not very good in AAA last year?
Perhaps Cade Marlowe will revisit his earlier plan to pursue medical school:
mlb.com/news/cade-marlowe-continues-to-make-strong…